By Brendan Rascius The Charlotte Observer
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Most Americans do not want to see any government agency altogether eliminated, according to a new YouGov poll.

But the agency that the largest share of Americans support axing is the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with one-quarter saying the cost-cutting outfit run by Elon Musk should itself be cut.

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The poll — conducted Feb. 16-18 — comes as President Donald Trump and Musk have targeted numerous agencies and departments for large-scale cuts and potential elimination. Among them are the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Which agencies should be eliminated?

The poll provided 1,603 U.S. adults with a list of a dozen agencies and departments, and asked them whether each should be expanded, kept the same, reduced or eliminated.

A majority of respondents supported either expanding or maintaining the size of 10 out of 12 agencies and departments.

The most popular were the National Weather Service and the Department of Defense, with 75% and 70%, respectively, saying they should be expanded or kept the same. Similarly, 68% and 66% said the same for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The two least popular were DOGE and USAID, with 47% and 45% of respondents, respectively, saying they should be expanded or kept the same, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of about 3 percentage points.

However, few respondents said agencies or departments should be completely removed. Twenty-five percent said they were in favor of axing DOGE (which, being a temporary organization, is already scheduled to be dissolved in July 2026). Twenty-one percent said USAID should be eliminated, and 17% said the same for the U.S. Department of Education.

These figures grew slightly when combined with the shares of respondents who said agencies should be reduced.

Thirty-five percent said USAID and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should be eliminated or reduced; 34% said the same for DOGE, and 29% said the same for the Department of Education.

Partisan differences

As could be expected, the responses varied significantly based on partisan affiliation.

Republicans were generally far more supportive of reducing or eliminating agencies and departments than Democrats.

For example, 60% of GOP respondents said they favored downsizing or dismantling USAID, while just 10% of Democrats said the same. Similarly, 57% of Republicans said they supported reducing or eliminating the IRS. Just 12% of Democrats said the same.

The situation was reversed for three organizations, though.

A majority of Democrats, 57%, favored shrinking or eliminating DOGE, while just 11% of Republicans said the same. The same went for the Department of Defense (19% vs. 10%) and ICE (36% vs. 6%).